"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Kim Fri Jul 18, 2014 1:45 pm

Seems that there's a lot of vintage plastic slinging about the Skunk Works lately, and Thursday evening brought yet another Golden Oldie flash-back !

My Uncle Wayne bought a Testors 'Cosmic Wind' WAY back in 1968, and we were just SURE it was gonna be THE PLANE !! I mean...how could you go wrong ?....Cool name, cool color, even wheel fairings !!! It HAD to be a rocket!

Our enthusiasm was soon dampened, as we watched it trundle across the ball diamond's infield dirt...it's little Wen Mac-McCoy-Testors .049 pulling for all it was worth. With a good tug on the handle, it would finally drag itself into the air, making anemic laps until it's fuel was exhausted. Even our official "Slow Plane", Wayne's Jetco Piper Super Cruiser was faster, so the Wind didn't get much respect.

A friend of mine gave me this one a while back, and I finally got around to cleaning the engine and setting the plane up to fly. I had to straighten the elevator/stabilizer assembly, which had acquired a significant downward bend over the years. The elevator STILL has a noticeable kink in it, but it works.

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... Sam_3410

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... Sam_3410

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 13_14

The engine had been run, but the plane was never flown or set up to fly. An overnight soaking loosened the castor-stuck .049, and I just flushed it out and called it ready to go. The plastic firewall/fuel tank got a cursory wiping off, though I may soak it too. Check out the VERY substantial bolt/nut nose ballast! It NEEDS it....and could actually use another one!

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 16_14

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 16_14

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 16_110

The Wind seemed to have NO down elevator control at all, just Up and Level, so I used my trusty Dremel tool to hog out a notch for a little more swing at the bellcrank . I figured that this was a mostly psychological move at the time (my Wen Mac Aracobra has PLENTY of "down" already installed and doesn't need help in that direction!), but was glad I made the change when the racer proved to be REALLY tail heavy, even with that big bolt and nut in it's snout.

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 15_14

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 15_14

I set up the Cosmic Wind with a rather optimistic 25 feet of Spider Wire !

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 14_11

Which turned out to be about the right length...

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 18_13

All four flights were roller-coaster trips, with the tail-heavy...and just plain HEAVY...racer hunting all over it's patch of flyable sky, while I tried to hit it with preemptive jabs of Down elevator at the right times. The thing DOES look good in the air though:

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 9_18

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 9_18

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 10_13

The racer doesn't have much of a glide, of course, but it DOES have a rather gentle way of disassembling itself on contact with the ground: The landing gear flops forward and down, releasing the rubber bands that hold the wing in place. The gear then falls behind the wing, which is dragged by the lead-outs and fuselage, and the whole affair comes to a stop in the same order every time!

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... Dsc00710

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... Dsc00710

Makes me look back with a bit of sympathy for the kids who thought they were gonna fly this poor thing. Even the MOST disciplined fledgling pilot, TOTALLY following the instruction book, would have had his hands full with this pretty, flying whale !!!

It DOES look good however !

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 1_28

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 1_28

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhDrDAVUiX8&feature=youtu.be

**RknRusty** Fri Jul 18, 2014 3:47 pm

That is so... cool, funny and sad. Thanks.
Rusty

**Cribbs74** Fri Jul 18, 2014 5:22 pm

How could something so cool be such a dud?

Take that Testors out and put a Medallion in it! Or keep it as is for side show events. lol!

Ken Cook Fri Jul 18, 2014 7:44 pm

My Cox Super Sport wouldn't even leave the ground. Cool looking plane but it only ran in circles on the asphalt. I might of even been impressed if it left the ground for a hop or two. Ken

Kim Sat Jul 19, 2014 4:40 am

"Why, it's a Racing Snail, of course !!!"

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... Racing10

**Cribbs74** Sat Jul 19, 2014 5:13 am

Kim wrote:"Why, it's a Racing Snail, of course !!!"

I just watched "Neverending Story" with my kids the other day.

ian1954 Sat Jul 19, 2014 9:14 am

Bur it did fly! It looked like a struggle but it flew.

That is why I was surprised with the PT trainer - when ever I have seen attempts to fly the plastic planes I have cringed. Never seems to be a joyous experience but, as a beginner plane, they may have been the first, final and never to be repeated attempt to enter the hobby.

I always wondered if the line lengths on the instructions were too ambitious. (Well not always, only have seeing some of the topics in this forum!).

I can't imagine what the experience would have been with this lovely looking model on 35' lines.

Kim Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:09 am

ian1954 wrote:Bur it did fly! It looked like a struggle but it flew.

That is why I was surprised with the PT trainer - when ever I have seen attempts to fly the plastic planes I have cringed. Never seems to be a joyous experience but, as a beginner plane, they may have been the first, final and never to be repeated attempt to enter the hobby.

I always wondered if the line lengths on the instructions were too ambitious. (Well not always, only have seeing some of the topics in this forum!).

I can't imagine what the experience would have been with this lovely looking model on 35' lines.

Yeah, on 35' of line, the Wind might have ended up being a "Taxi Machine" like Ken's Super Sport! You'd definitely need 360 degrees of runway!

I think, for the average kid, success came down to having contact with "an insider" in the hobby to provide direction on what model to buy, and follow-up with instruction once the plane was chosen.

I had two initial forays into control line model airplanes (a Wen Mac Aracobra, and later, a Wen Mac Skyraider) that were spectacular in their failures, and it took my Uncle and cousin, flying their extremely battered PT-19, to get me on the right track. Even then, it was a while before their instruction got me settled down to where I could control the plane. I doubt I would have succeeded without their help.

My first contact with a balsa model was when Wayne let me fly his Dumas (Veco) 'Scout', and it was like stepping into the light! I KNEW it had to fly better by just watching it, but it wasn't until I got hold of the handle that I found out what a sports car it was!

Anyway, got some more of these ancient "Lead Sleds" coming around shortly. I'd like to get my hands on a reasonably-price Wen Mac Skyraider, to allow me to revisit (and correct) our first meeting! So, we'll see...

Kim Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:14 am

Cribbs74 wrote:How could something so cool be such a dud?

Take that Testors out and put a Medallion in it! Or keep it as is for side show events.

I MAY try that! It surely won't hurt the plane to have a little more weight in the snout, along with the extra power. Wayne still has the firewall from his Cosmic Wind (think the plane got a Viking Funeral), so I may see if I can have it to modify...

1/2A Nut Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:22 am

Woohoo that was fun to watch thank you.

My cox version does have lead up front and comes with two props a 3p and 4p the wing has more tapper on 4p she goes well with a TD Cylinder and HC Head. The wing is slotted in with rubber bands only in the back and has a underbelly section of plastic. Small Cox Logo

anm2 Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:35 am

I learned to crash on a Cox SuperSport. It was great. Then my dad took me out to Whitehouse Field in Jacksonville, and we watched a big C/L&R/C meet. I was hooked. We went straight to a hobby shop and I bought a Carl Goldberg Wizard. We put a Black Widow on that plane and she flew like a champ. I was hooked. Now forty years later, I'm back in the sport. We called it fun, and it was. Thanks for the walk down memory lane. Andy

Kim Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:51 am

1/2A Nut wrote:Woohoo that was fun to watch thank you.

My cox version does have lead up front and comes with two props a 3p and 4p the wing has more tapper on 4p she goes well with a TD Cylinder and HC Head. The wing is slotted in with rubber bands only in the back and has a underbelly section of plastic.

Hey, You're Welcome!

It was actually fun messing with the poor thing. Yeah, a Tee Dee mod WOULD certainly help !

Kim Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:59 am

anm2 wrote:I learned to crash on a Cox SuperSport. It was great. Then my dad took me out to Whitehouse Field in Jacksonville, and we watched a big C/L&R/C meet. I was hooked. We went straight to a hobby shop and I bought a Carl Goldberg Wizard. We put a Black Widow on that plane and she flew like a champ. I was hooked. Now forty years later, I'm back in the sport. We called it fun, and it was. Thanks for the walk down memory lane. Andy

Yeah...I had a Super Sport given to me back in the 1990's...had a broken wing and missing parts, but I was actually able to order a new wing and firewall from whoever was running Cox back in those days. The colors didn't match up, but the parts fit, so I put my best engine in the monster and turned a lot of circles "flying" it, on 20 foot lines. It spent an inordinate amount of time sliding on it's nose at every landing...

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 1_32

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... 1_32

**RknRusty** Mon Jul 28, 2014 3:49 pm

For the first time I saw a Cosmic Wind this past Saturday. Our club VP Colonel James Duckworth Ret., who hosted the July meeting has QUITE a museum, two whole floors of a building built for the purpose behind his house. I was amazed at how heavy the CW was. He had a bunch of them. He also had a bunch of little hollow winged Cox planes with airfoils made of thin plastic that were very light. I think they had Space Bug Juniors on them. I really wanted one of those. I didn't tell him that but maybe I beamed it into his mind. I'm not even going to describe this place, I would be hopelessly at a loss for words and space. I'll just say there is no branch of the hobby he hasn't been deep into. Of the thousands of engines, every one I flipped was like it had been cleaned and oiled yesterday. Other than the lighted rotating glass cases, he had no qualms about me touching or picking up anything. He wanted it that way. He flies or flew most of it.
Mercy

Rusty

**RknRusty** Tue Jul 29, 2014 11:56 am

RknRusty wrote:...He also had a bunch of little hollow winged Cox planes with airfoils made of thin plastic that were very light. I think they had Space Bug Juniors on them. I really wanted one of those. I didn't tell him that but maybe I beamed it into his mind....

I just found in another thread that those were the TD-1 with aluminum airfoils. I thought the wings were plastic at the time. Must have been about ten of them. He said they flew pretty well. I must be remembering something else with the baby Space bugs. It was a lot to take in.
Rusty

Kim Tue Jul 29, 2014 1:00 pm

RknRusty wrote:
RknRusty wrote:...He also had a bunch of little hollow winged Cox planes with airfoils made of thin plastic that were very light. I think they had Space Bug Juniors on them. I really wanted one of those. I didn't tell him that but maybe I beamed it into his mind....
I just found in another thread that those were the TD-1 with aluminum airfoils. I thought the wings were plastic at the time. Must have been about ten of them. He said they flew pretty well. I must be remembering something else with the baby Space bugs. It was a lot to take in.
Rusty

"He said they flew pretty well."

LOVE to get my sticky little fingers on one 'o THEM!!!!! Probably have a "hit" put out on me from the C.E.F. !!!!

**RknRusty** Tue Jul 29, 2014 5:53 pm

Other than simply wishing I had one or two of the old Cox models, just because it would be cool, like a Stuka or a P-40, not having one has been really okay, no big deal. But after seeing the TD-1, I'm smitten with the need to fly one. Maybe if Duck hosts another meeting next year I'll ask him if we can take one out. He's 100% approachable like that. Not your anal sort of collector. Not so'ze you'd know it anyway.
Rusty

Kim Tue Jul 29, 2014 6:05 pm

RknRusty wrote:Other than simply wishing I had one or two of the old Cox models, just because it would be cool, like a Stuka or a P-40, not having one has been really okay, no big deal. But after seeing the TD-1, I'm smitten with the need to fly one. Maybe if Duck hosts another meeting next year I'll ask him if we can take one out. He's 100% approachable like that. Not your anal sort of collector. Not so'ze you'd know it anyway.
Rusty

Only one word for that..................VIDEO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1/2A Nut Tue Jul 29, 2014 7:55 pm

Maybe he will allow a few pics of the hoard without giving out his location / name for security reasons lol Wink

**RknRusty** Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:04 am

Yeah, sorry I didn't take pics. He wouldn't have minded. It's a long way from where I live though. His rubber powered planes were way more sophisticated than I ever dreamed too.
Rusty
I'm hijacking the crap out of Kim's thread

Kim Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:37 am

RknRusty wrote:Yeah, sorry I didn't take pics. He wouldn't have minded. It's a long way from where I live though. His rubber powered planes were way more sophisticated than I ever dreamed too.
Rusty
I'm hijacking the crap out of Kim's thread

Hijack away dude !!!! But if you can get some more stuff on this super fellow, he'll surely deserve his own thread here !!!

stuntflyr Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:01 pm

I used to use Cox fibreglass 6x3 props on my Wen Mac/Testors engines with Cox red can Racing Fuel, that made the big Testors Cosmic Wind of a buddy go pretty well.
Chris...

Mark Boesen Wed Jan 21, 2015 9:24 pm

Yep, I'll second that, for some reason it seems the Wen-Mac/Testors props and the O.K. Cub (Kaysun) props just don't pull as well as a Cox prop do, possible bias on my part or flexing or airfoil?

roddie Sun Dec 20, 2015 5:57 am

For sale in the "land down under"..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Testors-Cosmic-Wind-Model-complete-with-049-Engine-and-Control-Line-circa-1976-/131674056341?hash=item1ea862a695:g:2XgAAOSwbdpWa4TX

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... S-l16010

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is... S-l16010

I think this is a smaller version like the one that Cox produced. It states 1976 production-series 4910.. and has a reed-valve engine, rather than the older one (like Kim's) with the rotary-valve engine.

Oldenginerod Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:46 am

Yep. Already spotted that one. Clapping

I need to be careful not to get started on a new collection, but it doesn't look like a bad deal so far.

Sponsored content

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

"Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...

Re: "Oh Yeah, They Call Me the Breeze"...er...'The Wind"..uh.."Cosmic Wind"...That Is...